The Charmed generation?

The Flaxen Haired One pontificates thusly.

'Tis true. If you earn minimum wage it is because you have no marketable skills. If you work as a cleaner don't expect a surgeon's salary. Get orf ya arse and learn stuff. Skills generally get you more dosh. If you live in part of the country which is too expensive, then move elsewhere. Not saying it is easy, but when has life been easy, unless you are born into wealth? Life has never been fair. Recognise the reality and do something about it. Don't expect the state (the taxpayer) to give you more than existence pay. And then it should be a temporary measure. If you are too dimwitted to appreciate these simple truths and act accordingly, don't expect your life to be an economic 'bed of roses'.'

The above is a comment I recently placed at Bucko’s place. There is nothing profound in my musings. In fact, the sentiment is perhaps banal and obvious at least to those who can see. I would just like to expand a little and add a little contextual wisdom.

I’m a classic representation of the ‘Baby Boomer’ generation. Economically I have done rather well, I suppose, and managed to retire at the grand age of 62. I’m haunted by the spectre of my poor father dying a day before he officially retired. I’m thin, active and healthy so statistically I’m likely to be still around at 65 to pick up my State pension. However, no one is guaranteed a span and chance and circumstance lurketh in unknown corners of the room/doom. I’m starting to get morbid, so moving on….

I contend that the boomers are an economic anomaly. Certainly, prior generations did not do so well, particularly the working class. Opportunities available to young baby boomers, especially in the realms of education, were unprecedented and many working-class folk, such as myself, took advantage of the educational possibilities with gusto. Jobs appeared plentiful and if you were educated a whole vista of career paths became available. I’m not saying it was easy. Motivation, hard work and due diligence are always sound predictors of success.

Let us proceed to the succeeding generations. Times have changed. Globalisation, a decline in traditional industries and other economic factors, which I barely comprehend, have insinuated into the Western economy. Quality work is harder to find even for the educated. This is compounded by the fact that 33% of youngsters aspire to obtain a college degree (UK data). Note: there is a 30% drop out rate. When ‘I were a lad’, only 5% of the population went on to university. It seems today that you need a degree for any paid work- an over exaggeration, of course, but I’m sure you get the point. As an aside, not all degrees are equal. Graduates in the physical sciences, engineering and mathematics still do quite well; graduates in the liberal arts, not so much. There is a general and naive assumption amongst graduates of today that a degree is a passport to the professions and a high paying job with an established career path. In many cases this expectation is unrealistic. Also, later generations have an expectation of relative wealth especially if they are nurtured by the stereotypical middle-class boomer family. They aspire to their parent’s economic well-being without understanding the wherewithal involved or fully appreciating the modern economic environment.

I am of the opinion, and I may be wrong, as this is not my area of expertise, that the latest generation to hit the job market and aspire to the traditional trappings of adulthood will find life a bit tougher than their boomer parents. Great jobs are not so plentiful and the competition is keen. Relative salaries are probably lower than the boomer generation, in relation to the cost of living. Certainly, getting onto the property ladder is becoming an impossibility for most and renting is very expensive. All that said, there are opportunities for those with the right skills to prosper in the modern age and do well. As the market is international, a life abroad is worthy of contemplation. As they say: ‘the world is your bivalve shellfish’.  

So, there we have it. Just a few of my ‘lay man’s’ thoughts on the issue. I would welcome my reader’s opinions on the matter. In order to gain perspective and balance, it would be great to hear, not only from boomers but also from those troublesome and pesky ‘whipper-snappers’. Let the mass debate commence.